Category

Crop

Nutrient

Related Content

2013 Crop Nutrient Deficiency Photo Contest Winners

IPNI has announced the winners of the 2013 Crop Nutrient Deficiency Photo Contest. We are pleased to note that photo submissions were once again strong across all categories and many excellent photos were received from around the globe. Our judges were faced with many tough choices on deciding which entries would gain top honors. In the majority of cases, preference was given to those well-photographed entries that provided a good representation of the impact of the deficiency to the plant, adequate soil and/or plant tissue nutrient analyses information, and some details concerning current or historical fertilization at the site.

IPNI extends our congratulations to all winners and we thank all entrants for submitting images to our annual contest. We encourage all to please check back with the contest website maintained at www.ipni.net/photocontest for details on submitting your fresh entries for 2014!

Best Overall Photo

Grand Prize (USD 200): Phosphorus (P) Deficiency in Guava

N.D. Yogendra, University of Agricultural Sciences, Bangalore, India, captured this image of P deficiency in three-year old guava plants (var. Lalith) grown in a P-deficient soil at the Regional Horticulture Research and Extension Center. Available (Bray) P content in the soil was quite low (less than 0.9 mg P/kg). Leaf tissue analysis also recorded a low value of 0.065% and Zn concentration was 2.524%. The purpling of Guava leaf tissues was due to the accumulation of reddish-purple anthocyanin pigments.

Runner-up (USD 75) - N-Deficient Rice – Gopal Ramdas Mahajan, Indian Council of Agricultural Research Complex, Goa, India, captured a field image of N-deficient rice plants showing yellowing of older leaves followed by younger ones. During the later stages of rice growth, drying of leaf tips was observed. The image was captured from the experiments on organic rice cultivation. Only farmyard manure (FYM) was applied to the rice crop using N equivalent concept. Lab analysis showed an N content of 0.32% and chlorophyll concentration of 0.64 gram per fresh leaf weight in the youngest fully expanded leaf of this crop. Comparatively, the healthy plant leaves that received both FYM and fertilizer N had 2.7% N content.

Phosphorus

1st Prize (USD 150): P-Deficient Lettuce

Juan Hong, Wuhan Institute of Agricultural Sciences, Hubei, China, submitted this close-up shot of P deficiency in lettuce at rosette stage. Some physical and chemical properties of the soil in which lettuce was grown were pH 7.8, organic matter 0.71%, available P 3.30 mg/kg, available N 70 mg/kg, and available K 134.84 mg/kg.

Runner-up (USD 75) Iron (Fe) Deficiency in Guava – K. Venkatesan, Tamil Nadu Agricultural University, Coimbatore, India, submitted this interesting case of Fe deficiency in guava. The deficiency symptoms first appeared in younger leaves as interveinal chlorosis followed by complete chlorosis and then turning into papery white color in severe cases. The soil pH was characteristically high and no micronutrients were applied. The Fe content of a deficient young leaf was 15 ppm, while it was 79 ppm for a healthy leaf.

Each year, the best examples of crop nutrient deficiency are gathered from the IPNI Crop Nutrient Deficiency Photo Contest and are added to the comprehensive assortment of hundreds of classic cases of crop nutrient deficiency documented from research plots and farm fields located around the world. Click here for more details on obtaining a copy of this collection. The collection now has almost 500 images of very high quality.

IPNI's Mission

The mission of IPNI is to develop and promote scientific information about the responsible management of plant nutrition for the benefit of the human family.

IPNI is a global organization with initiatives addressing the world's growing need for food, fuel, fiber and feed. There is widespread concern for issues such as climate change and relationship of crop production to the environment and ecosystems, and IPNI programs are achieving positive results. Best management practices (BMPs) for nutrient stewardship encourage the concept of applying the right product (source), at the right rate, at the right time, and in the right place.